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Which R2R DAC UP TO 1K: ORGANIC, FULL-BODIED, DEEP SOUNDSTAGE

Hi all and hello George,

I`m new to Audiogon and as I have seen from earlier discussions some of you seem to be THE absolute R2R enthusiasts for many years. May I ask you for some help regarding this topic as I`m out for a new dac which should be R2R?

I`m coming from a Lector CDP 707, which is sold now as I got over to streaming, but I bloody regret it. The Lector had all I ever wanted, tonally he played on the warm, full-bodied side, organically with a lot of flesh to the bone and authority/slam and I loved the expansive soundstage, not overly wide but very deep. Bass was punchy enough even for EDM which I listen to mainly.

For the moment I`m using my former headamp as a DAC, the Questyle CMA 600i, with a DS chip on board, AKM 4490. I wouldn`t call it a catastrophe, but of course the signature is lightyears away from the Lector.

When looking for a new DAC I saw that Lector Strumenti offers some too, but I`m afraid my budget is too small with up to 1K, so this is not an option.

In respect of the Lector using the PCM 1704K I thought about (ab)using some vintage gear, for examle the Denon DVD 5000 with 4xPCM 1704J on board too (the Denon has a digital input and could be used as a stand alone DAC too), but I was told the analog stage is crappy and so I got away from this.

Still on my mind is the old Naim DAC and the Bifrost 2 or a used HoloSpring but for the moment I got no possibilitys to test them in my system (I`m using a tube packed preamp and as a headamp the Emotiva BasX 100 with the jumpers set as my "heddphone" requires some juice) and sure I`m open to any other ideas.

So, what would be your favourite devices when looking at my desired sound and knowing what (tiny amount) I got to spend?


It should be able to handle 24/96 btw, but my main concern would be an extremely deep and wide soundstage and a darker organic tonality.

Would be really glad for some help and input.

Best regards
Michael


barrista0611

Showing 9 responses by barrista0611

barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
Well spoken, mahgister!

In the meantime I bought Schiits Bifrost 2 and it has all I wanted, especially it brings out real instruments in a really organic way. My understanding of this term in respect of hifi is a presentation that makes you feel like watching and auditioning an organism and every single note and microdetail is just presented as natural as this organism ever could be. I don't want the sound to be a try or a copy of behaving like an organism, I want the original taste.

One of my best desicions regarding this topic was buying a pure silver interconnect cable from the french manufacturer Ocellia. Everything gets integrated in a natural and almost magical way. Now, together with the Bifrost I finally found the perfect solution.

So, what were your major steps to create an organic sound? 
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
Thanks a lot for the first ideas!

@georgehifi I just found one Cary 303 through hifishark but it doesn't have a digital input. Nevertheless the reviews sound promising. The CAL' s reviews seem to be fitting too. Found one in Austria, while I'm from Germany, so not a big deal. But the price is 650 EUR and so I'm asking myself if it can compete with the newer dedicated R2R dacs, as Naims from 2010 or the actual Bifrost 2. What do you think about this? 

@devilboy Never heard of Yamamoto but I will definitely have an eye on this. Really could be worth a try. Could you maybe say some words about the overall tonality and it' s ability regarding soundstage, macrodynamics, imaging and layering?

Thanks again! 
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
Thanks a lot for the ongoing support!

Will definitely check out the Electrocompaniet, while I am a bit sceptic about MHDT as my preamp is tube packed already. Could be too much in addition.

Denafrips, hmmm. Don’t they use the soekris architecture in general? I found their 1421 a bit to thin. Not harsh or cold but not as rich and full-bodied as I wanted.

Can someone comment on the Holo Spring 2? Rare on the used market of course but everything I was reading about it sounded really good by far.

Still open to other ideas of course! 
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
I sold the Lector because I was an idiot!
I knew he was a keeper but in the end I had around 20 CDs I like, while I'm having more than 150 albums on Quobuz which I prefer. I even asked Lectors service if they could add a digital input but they couldn't.

Now that the Gungir was mentioned several times, I'll check him out. What about the Bifrost 2 as a cheaper alternative which I could afford new?

Mojo DACs, well, really excellent I guess but for the moment not my budget. 
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
Same thing as with the MHDT. As my preamp uses tubes, the dac shouldn’t. Don’t want the overall signature to be too tube dictated. But thanks anyway! 
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
On SBAF they already call 'em Convert 2 light... ;] The Modius definitely got my attention, together with the Modi Multibit which might be the cheapest R2R DAC around. 

barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
George I really missed this, sorry! I tried to find the Cary everywhere, but the only version I saw on hifishark does not have a digital input. Seems the 303 without 200. Will keep on looking for the right version. What do you think would be an adequate price? And could the Denon DVD 5000 compete with a new analog stage? It doesn’t have the K’s but the J’s and I could get it for just 300 Euros so there would be some room for mods. Thanks again!!!

https://allegrolokalnie.pl/oferta/cary-audio-cd-303-hdci-wspanialy-cd
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
Thanks George! I just found a Lector Digicode 2.24 which was offered to me for 1.150 EUR. Seems to be one of Lectors first dacs and should be around 10 years old. Price is still negotiable a bit I guess. 

http://www.lector-audio.com/dc224.htm

Actually I didn't want a tube dac in respect of my tube preamp, but in this case things are different. Does maybe anybody have experience with the 2.24?
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
George, it doesn't seem constant and the input impedance of my preamp is 47 kOhm. 
Guess I will be looking for something else.
As you're a fan of the NAIM CDP 555 - do you also know the old naim dac? They came out around the same time. 
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